The United States attacks two more ships suspected of transporting drugs in the Pacific Ocean world

“Our intelligence learned that these ships were linked to drug smuggling, were transporting drugs, and were crossing a known drug smuggling route,” Hegseth said in a social media post.

The United States carried out nearly 20 attacks last September against ships near the coast of Venezuela, and more recently in the Pacific Ocean, killing more than 70 people, according to Hegseth, amid a ramping up of the US military presence in the Caribbean.

Without providing evidence, Donald Trump’s government claims that the boats attacked were transporting drugs, but foreign leaders, members of the US Congress, legal experts and families of the victims have called on the United States to provide evidence.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described US attacks on suspected drug traffickers as unacceptable and a violation of international law. Venezuela claims that the bombings are illegal, amount to murder, and constitute aggression against the country.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused Trump of trying to overthrow his government, a claim that the US president downplayed despite reports of close contacts between the White House and the Venezuelan opposition.

In recent weeks, Trump authorized the CIA to take action inside Venezuela and indicated that the US military would carry out attacks inside the country, but he later backed down.

These statements came after the United States strengthened its military presence in the Caribbean region, by sending a nuclear submarine and a group of warships accompanied by the largest aircraft carrier in the world. In response, Maduro has beefed up security forces and mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers across the country.